Dentists Drill Into the Distressed Property Biz

It isn’t just professional investors who are looking for distressed properties. Doctors and dentists are getting into the act.

Take for example Ammon Jones and his twin brother Aaron Jones, who three years ago opened a dentist office at a new strip shopping center in Pleasant Grove, Utah. The property, whose tenants include a tanning salon and Lenny’s Guns & Ammo, is only 50% leased, and this year it fell into foreclosure.

Deciding that they would rather be landlords than tenants, the Jones brothers bought the center for $1.5 million. They say that is a great deal considering the property was offered to them two years ago for $5 million. They have also brought in a physician as a partner. Ammon Jones says he and his brother initially won’t make money from the property, necessarily, but they’re fine with that.

“We look at this as a sort of a retirement [investment] for us as well,” he says.